Container closure



April 13, 1937. J. GUTMANN CONTAINER CLOSURE Original Filed Feb. 25, 1932 INVfiNTO aw J/M/ r A: ATTORNEY IIIIVI I 140491. 9,"

Patented Apr. 13, v 1937 CONTAINER CLOSURE Jesse Gutman'n, Babylon, N. Y., assignor to Ferdinand Gutmann & 00., Brooklyn, N. Y., a corporation of New York Original application February 25, 1932, Serial No. 595,001, now Patent 1,916,976 dated July 4, 1933. Divided and this application July 1 1933, Serial 3 Claims.

The invention relates to a container closure of the type disclosed in my co-pending application, Serial No. 595,001, which became Patent No. 1,916,976, dated July 4, 1933, of which the present application is a division, and more particularly to a three-part re-seal closure wherein the cushion disk is held within the composite shell by frictional engagement of the edge thereof with the inner wall of the non-metallic interiorly screw threaded tubular member.

In my aforesaid application, there is shown and described a container closure consisting of three elements, a tubular element open at both ends and provided with interior screw threads or other means by which it may be attached to a container; a cushion disk or sealing gasket closing the top of said tubular element and bearing upon the end thereof, and a reinforcing shell inclosing the top of said tubular member and the cushion disk, the edge of this shell extending about the sides of, and being secured to, said element in a manner to afford a desired reinforcement thereof, to compress and bind the edge of the cushion disk or sealing gasket against the end of the tubular element, and to aiford a yieldable backing to the cushion disk, so that when applying a closure to a container there will be a variable degree of compression of the cushion disk with the maximum compression adjacent the outer edge of the lip of a bottle.

In' producing closures like those immediately above described, it is essential that the three elements of the cap, the tubular element, the shell and the cushion disk or sealing gasket be assembled prior to the attachment of the shell to the tubular element.

The closure of the present invention embodies the same three elements as are present in the closure above referred to, the manner of combining these elements, however, differing therefrom'and the manufacture of the closure involving a different manufacturing procedure.

While both closures have certain structural and functional characteristics in common, the closure of the present application lacks certain structural and functional characteristics present in the closure of my aforesaid application, and is adapted for use in sealing containers in which the nature of the contents is not such as to require the tight seal secured by means of the closure of the aforesaid application. By this, I mean that with the normal function of a machine in applying a closure to a container, a more effective. seal will result from the use of a closure described in my aforesaid application than will necessarily result from the use of a closure of the present application. This is due to the fact that in the closure of the aforesaid application the mounting of the cushion disk or sealing gasket upon the top of the tubular element ensures a fixed distance of the disks from the lower edge of the tubular element, irrespective of the thickness of the cushion disk or sealing gasket; thus ensuring the formation of a uniformly effective seal with a given turning movement of different closures; while in the closure .of the present application, where the cushion disk or sealing gasket is within the tubular element, any variation in the thickness of said disk or gasket will vary the distance of the disk from the lower edge of the tubular element and thus vary the effectiveness of the seal with the same turning movement of different closures in which the disks are of different thicknesses.

With certain commodities to be packed in a container, however, a highly effective seal is not required, thus permitting the use of a closure constructed as herein shown and described by manufacturing methods permitting the production of the closure at a lower cost than that involved in the production of the closure of my aforesaid application.

The invention consists primarily in a container closure consisting of a rigid, non-resilient,

non-metallic tubular element, open at both ends and having inwardly projecting means whereby it may be attached to a container to close the same, a shell of a deformable, resilient sheet material having a top closing and engaging an end, and a skirt inclosing the side, of said element,

and permanently secured thereto, and a sealing gasket frictionally retained within said tubular element adjacent the top of said shell;

and in such other novel features of construction and combination of parts as are hereinafter set forth and described, and more particularly pointed out in the claims hereto appended.

Referring to the drawing,

Fig. 1 is a view upon a greatly enlarged scale, partly in vertical section, of a closure embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a similar view illustrating the manner of inserting the sealing gasket; and

Fig. 3 is a similar view showing the closure upon a glass container.

Like numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views.

As shown in the accompanying drawing, the closure consists of a tubular element Ill, open at both ends and provided with inwardly projecting means II by which a closure may be attached to a bottle as a result of the engagement of this means with co-operating means I! formed exterlorly of the neck of a bottle l3.

In the drawing, the co-operating means within the tubular element In and about the neck of the bottle l3 are shown as screw threads, this being merely one of many well known forms of attaching means by which a sealing disk is drawn into engaging relation with the top of a bottle neck and compressed to an extent to secure an effective sealing action as a result of rotary movement of the closure with relation to the bottle. Other well known forms of connecting means may be used so long as the desired wedging action is secured as a result of rotary movement of the closure.

An end of the tubular element Iii is closed by the top H of'a shell having a skirt I5 inclosing the side of said element, this skirt being permanently secured to the element in any desired manner.

In the embodiment of the invention shown, the tubular element It! is provided with an exterior shoulder IS, the edge of the skirt l5 being spun or otherwise formed so as to cause a desired interlocking relation between the skirt and the shoulder I6.

The inner face of the top H of the shell is engaged with the end of the tubular element, and the manner of attaching said shell to said element is such as to preclude relative rotary movement of these parts. a f

A cushion disk or sealing gasket I1 is seated within the tubular element and in abutting relation to the inner face of the top H.

The tubular element Ill may be made of a phenol formaldehyde product, commonly known as bakelite, or any other non-metallic material possessing sufliclent rigidity or non-resiliency to avoid possible deformation'of the attaching means when developing that pressure necessary to compress the cushion disk or sealing gasket when attaching the closure to a container.

The shell I l-I5 is preferably formed of a half hard, drawing metal such as tin plate, since this sheet material may be readily drawn to the desired form and its edge spun under a shoulder upon the tubular element to attach the shoulder to said element. This material may also be decorate in a manner to give a pleasing appear- ?nc'e to the exposed top of the shell, or to present hereon matter indicating the contents of the container or the origin thereof. Furthermore, it

possesses sufilcient resiliency to permit the deformation of the top of the shell as a result of the stresses applied thereto during the application of the closure to a container, and after such deformation has a constant tendency to resume its normal contour, thus subjecting the gasket to continuing stresses tending to maintain the portion of the gasket contacting-with the neck of the bottle under compression and preserve the effectiveness of the seal, notwithstanding the tendency,

to a limited extent, of the cushion disk to assume a set form with a lapse of time. However, materials other than that referred to may be emplayed so long as such materials possess the characteristics of deformability above referred to.

The cushion disk or sealing gasket I! may be made of a wide variety of materials such as are commonly used with containers, according to the character of the materials to be packed within the container. The depth of the skirt. I5 is im- 5 material.

In assembling the closure of the invention. the tubular element I0 is inserted in a preformed reinforcing shell with one end of the tubular element in engagement with the inner top H of the shell and the edge of the skirt 5 I5 is spun or rolled into engagement with a shoulder upon the tubular element. Thereafter, a cushion disk I! is passed through the open end of the tubular element and sprung in a manner to permit it to pass the interior projections or 10 screw threads ll until it passes'these projections and engages with the inner top of the shell exposed within the opening of the tubular element.

As the gasket assumes its normal-shape or flattens, its edge is frictionally engaged with the 15 inner wall of the tube so as to avoid likelihood of escape of the disk from the assembled closure while it is in the hopper of the capping machine. The screw threads II or other means of attachment to the container aid in preventing possible 20 escape of the gasket.

The closure of the invention, like other re-seal closures, is applied to the container by imparting a rotary movement to the closure. Following the engagement of the cushion disk or sealing gasket 25 IT with the top of the neck of the container, and during subsequent turning movement of the closure, said disk is compressed throughout the area of its contact with the mouth of the container, and from the development of such compressive 30 strains, the top H of the shell is flexed upwardly developing what is known as a doming" of the top of the shell. This deformation in the top of 'the shell results in compression of the gasket about the edge of the mouth of the container adjacent the tubular element greater than adjacent the inner edge of the container mouth, and by reason of the reduced area of this greater compression in the formation of a more effective seal with the same quantity of rotary movement 4 of the closure. There is also a tendency of the central portion of the disk I! to bulge inwardly as a result of the compression adjacent its edge, this condition being well known in all closures employing a cushion disk or sealing gasket. 45

In the production of glass bottles, the custom is to follow certain standard dimensions in the pitch and formation of the threads or other means l2 co-operating with the inwardly projecting means or screw threads ll of the tubular element l0, and to provide the neck of the bottle with an exterior bead l8 limiting the downward movement of the closure.

In a cap embodying the invention, the interior I projections or threads ll of the tubular element 55 10 may be so formed as to conform to the usual configuration of the molded threads upon a glass container, thus ensuring a fairly close fit between t the co-operating threads or other attaching means. 50

By the use of heavy threads, the tubular element is so strengthened 'as to permit the wall thereof to be fairly thin particularly as this wall is reinforced by the skirt l5 of the shaft, and the deeper this skirt, the thinner can be the 65 wall of the shell. r

Cushion disks or sealing gaskets I'I do not vary greatly in thickness, but there is always likelihood of a lack of uniformity in the thicknessdilmension of such disks or gaskets'and the length 7. of the tubular element should be such as to permit the desired degree of compression of the gasket before there is any possibility of the lower edge of said element engaging the bead l8.

After the application of a closure to a container,

the resiliency inherent to the reinforcing shell results in a constant tendency oi the top of the shell to assume its fiat position, thus exerting a constant pressure upon the cushion disk'or sealing-gasket suficient to maintain this seal even with a loss of some of the elasticity of the crush ion disk or sealing gasket.

It is not my intention to limit the invention to the precise details of construction shown in the accompanying drawing, it being apparent that such may be varied without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Having described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to have protected by Letters Patent, is:- i

l. A container closure consisting of a rigid, non-=resi1ient, non-metallic tubular element, 0 at both ends and having inwardly projecting means whereby it may be attached to a container to close the same, a shell of a deformable, re silient sheet material having a top closing and engaging an end, and a skirt inclosing the side.

2. A container closure consisting oi a rigid, non-resilient, non-metallic tubular element, open at both ends and having inwardly projecting means whereby it may be attached to a container to close the same, and an exterior shoulder adjacent the top thereof, a shell of a deformable. resilient sheet material having a top closing and engaging an end, and a skirt inclosing the side, of said element, and permanently secured thereto by having its lower edge formed below and in engaging relation with said shoulder, and a sealing gasket frictionally retained within said tubular element adjacent the top of mid shell.

3. A container closure consisting of a molded tubular element composed of a phenol formaldehyde product, open at both ends and having formed interiorly'therewith inwardly projecting means whereby it y be attached to a container to close the same, a sheet metal shell having a top closing and engng an end, and a skirt inclosing the side, of said element, and permanently secured thereto, and a sealing gasket fricticnally retained within-said tubular element adjacent 

